Sick Hen- Please offer ideas, things to check for

[srothove]

I have a hen who is about 2 1/2 years old. She was thriving until about 3 months ago. Took her to a vet who thought she had worms, so we wormed them. She received special care, feedings through a syringe, etc. until she looked OK again.

Fast forward to about a week ago. Went out to the chicken run and saw her off on her own. Description of symptoms:

• Dark red comb, hot to the touch. Swollen at the base of the comb, by her head.
• Hot all over - belly, etc.
• Hard abdomen
• Squishy crop - no real bad breath smell
• Low appetite
• Skinny - protruding keel
• No egg production

I gave her an oral antibiotic and she is looking a little better in the mornings, but in the evenings listless.

Any ideas?

No egg binding, no soft shell eggs issues. Can't see any signs of mites. No real vet with chickens experience.

 

[Eggcessive]

What medicine did you worm her with? Do you have any new chickens from other farms who might have brought in other strains of coccidiossi? Is her crop flat first thing in the morning? Do her poops look normal or have too much white in them? Can you post a picture of her face and head? Pictures sometimes help.

 

[srothove]

Questions Answered:

• Wormed her with Safeguard, then a follow up this week of Wazine.
• Had a flock of 8 - no new chickens this year.
• Her crop is flat first thing in the morning (I just checked).
• Her poops have too much white in then and are not normal. They are consistently runny and not formed. One of last night's poop was yellow and frothy, but I need to see more of them to get a sense of how they are throughout the day. Maybe I'll separate her again so I can monitor her. These chickens all really like each other and her best friend is lead hen.
• Attaching pictures. You can see how puffy her comb is next to her head, Missing some feathers on her neck, been gone for awhile.

Chicken Drumstick (Buff Orp) started to look very skinny, stopped laying, happened in the course of a few weeks. Stopped eating and sat by herself, so off to a vet who would see her. The vet did not perform a fecal exam. Maybe a vet can just look at a chicken and know? All were wormed in May with Safeguard per the vet's suggestion.

She was the only one with these symptoms, I fed her yogurt and grapes, basically whatever she would eat until she would FINALLY eat on her own and peck in the yard.

Fast forward to last week. Went out to the coop in the AM, all is well, all are eager for treats, etc. Came out in the evening to check on the girls and Chicken Sesame is sitting by herself under the awning. I pick her up, she is breathing hard (gasping) and can barely stand on her own. I bring her in and triage her, but she is dead a few hours later. This chicken was just over a year old, my strongest layer (just laid a beautiful dark brown egg that morning), and very vigorous. I have no idea what killed her.

Now, Chicken Drumstick is sick again. She is not eating her mealworms, not going after grubs, hardly eating at all. I am treating her with a course of Sulphamethoxazole and Trimethoprim oral suspension at a rate of .5ml per day for 5-6 days. She looks better in the AM, but gets listless and barely eats in the PM.

Ruled Out:

• Mites/ parasites - they are regularly treated and I see not signs, even checked last night to be sure.
• Sour Crop/ Impacted Crop
• Egg binding/ Soft Shell
• Fighting/ bullying